Squalicum Piling Removal Video
A high priority Bellingham Bay habitat restoration project is underway with contractors working for the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) removing derelict creosote structures and pilings from the Squalicum Waterway, the first phase in an effort designed to improve fish access to Squalicum Creek and restore some of the functions for the creek's estuary.
Contractors are using a crane mounted on a barge to pull the 50- to 60-foot-long pilings of an old dock from Squalicum Waterway between Bellingham Cold Storage and Mount Baker Plywood Mill. By mid-March, they expect to pull 672 of the more than 50-year-old pilings from the water.
"Under the Bellingham Bay partnership, we have been learning to manage our shorelines so that we can keep essential waterfront jobs while improving critical fish habitat," said Port Executive Director Jim Darling. "Squalicum Creek is a place that will demonstrate we can have both. We thank DNR for taking the first step, by removing abandoned structures. The port is taking the lead in the next step, which will be a restoration project to remove barriers to fish passage within the creek itself."
The Port is currently working with environmental and engineering consulting firms to design and permit estuary improvements in the Squalicum Creek Waterway and improvements to Squalicum Creek for fish passage.
The derelict creosote structures and pilings in the Squalicum Creek Waterway are left over from extensive shipbuilding operations during World War II. Creosote is toxic to some species of food fish and a known carcinogen to humans. Removal of derelict creosote structures and pilings is part of Governor Gregoire's Puget Sound Initiative.
The Squalicum project is the first of many piling removal projects planned in the area. DNR estimates the Squalicum project will yield about 700 tons of wood and other priority projects in Bellingham Bay will yield about 350 tons of wood.
This project is part of a bigger cleanup and restoration picture that involves the City of Bellingham and the Port, local tribes, Whatcom Marine Resources Committee, and private businesses.
